Ghanaian highlife sensation Ofori Amponsah has taken a nostalgic walk down memory lane, sharing how his childhood in a small Ashanti village sparked his passion for music.
The “Otoolege” hitmaker opened up about how growing up surrounded by farms, trees, and simplicity helped shape the star he would become In an interview with CW Global monitored by MyNewsGh.
“I was brought up in a village in the Ashanti Region,” he said. “It wasn’t a dramatic childhood. We used to go to farms a lot, and that’s where I discovered I had a talent to sing.”
According to Ofori, his musical journey began when he would mimic legends like Michael Jackson under trees after farm work. But one defining moment changed everything.
“One day, while I was under a tree singing, a Rastafarian man approached me and said, ‘Do you know what you have? You’re a star,’” he recounted.
That encounter led him to the man’s home, where he learned how to create music from within. “He told me to just concentrate and create something. He helped me realise that I had something special.”
Amponsah revealed that he wrote his first song, a reggae tune, at the age of 12. “The song was about liberty. I can’t remember all the lyrics, but that was my first attempt at songwriting.”
His mother, a teacher, and his father, a disciplinarian, also played key roles in shaping his values. “From my mom, I learned to read.
“My first book was Cinderella,” he said with a laugh. “And from my dad, I learned discipline—waking up early and being on time.”
